Oil prices stay flat as markets weigh US-Iran talks and Middle East supply

Oil prices remained relatively unchanged in early trading on Thursday, as investors focused on US-Iran peace negotiations and the recovery of Middle East crude exports. The major benchmarks, WTI Crude and Brent Crude, both gained approximately $1 per barrel in the previous session. WTI was trading at $90.16 a barrel, down 26 cents or 0.29% from the prior close, while Brent was at $97.93 a barrel, down by 10 cents or 0.10%.

The largely flat session followed a strong September for oil prices, with Brent gaining around 14% this month and WTI advancing about 5%. The market is closely monitoring the potential impact of US-Iran talks and the resurgence in Middle East crude exports. Qatar expressed optimism about the peace negotiations between Tehran and Washington, but US President Donald Trump denied reports of offering Iran sanctions relief in exchange for concessions on its nuclear program.

The oil market is also monitoring the resumption of Gulf exports, with Saudi Arabia restarting oil tanker loadings and Goldman Sachs estimating Gulf exports reached 23.3 million barrels per day, surpassing the 2025 average. OPEC+ production policies and US crude inventories are other factors being closely watched ahead of the upcoming OPEC+ meeting on Sunday, as crude stocks increased while fuel inventories declined.